Housekeeping Management - Hotel Hospitality Software Solutions

RDP's Housekeeping Forecast, Scheduling, and History module is designed to
improve the process of completing the tasks assigned to the housekeeping department
of a hotel.
This software module is included with the core system at no additional charge.
The module has three major elements, which are forecasting housekeeping
requirements, daily housekeeping scheduling, and history. Housekeeping can
now use mobile devices, such an
iPhone or iPad, to change room status and enter time spent per room.

Housekeeping Forecast, Scheduling & History

The RDP system includes a very powerful
housekeeping system which is designed
to forecast housekeeping requirements, provide a daily cleaning schedule, and offers
complete history by housekeeper and room.

Forecasted
Housekeeping
Requirements

The housekeeping module is designed to forecast the
total number of housekeepers needed each day in the future based on
current guests in-house and expected arrivals/departures. For
example the forecast report may indicate that a total of 124 rooms will
be dirty tomorrow for a total cleaning time of 101 hours. The
following day shows 214 dirty rooms with a total cleaning time of 194
hours. Use this information to plan the work schedules for housekeepers
to make sure there are not too few or too many housekeepers each day.
Features include:

Assign different "clean patterns" for each guest.
For example, in a condominium rental, one guest can
have "checkout only" cleaning while another can purchase "full daily
cleaning."

Daily
Housekeeping
Schedule

The housekeeping module can automatically create a cleaning
schedule each day for each housekeeper based on the number of dirty
rooms, estimated clean time per room, and number of housekeepers.
A housekeeping status screen is the core element which tracks each
housekeeper and auto-refreshes as rooms are cleaned, inspected, and
other tasks are performed. Features include:

Automatically assign dirty rooms to housekeepers based on
total cleaning time

Print daily cleaning schedule for each housekeeper

Track status from dirty to "ready for inspection" to "clean
and ready for guest"

Rooms can be marked clean automatically using the in-room phone

Housekeeping
History

Housekeeper
Performance
Reports

The third major element of the housekeeping module is
historical reporting. It is possible to measure the performance
of each housekeeper by tracking the estimated clean time and actual
clean time, as well as variance. You can also track each time a room
was cleaned and by whom. For example, if a guest checks in to
a dirty room, you can determine which housekeeper erroneously marked
the room as clean. Features include:

Enter actual cleaning time and compare to forecasting time using
the phone in the room. For example, the housekeeper can press
*1 from the phone when they enter the room, which stores the start clean time
in housekeeping history. When done, they press *2 to mark
the room as "ready for inspection." The end clean is
stamped on the room. The system reports the actual clean time per room,
forecasted time, and variance to track housekeeper performance.

Inspectors can enter comments or notes on each clean.

Inspectors can use the phone in the room to mark the room as
"ready for guest," which also stored the time the inspector finished.
Reports are available showing how much time elapsed between the
housekeeper marking the room as "ready for inspector" and the the
time the inspector completed the inspection.

Track all cleans per housekeeper and tracks all cleans per
room.

Assign a Clean Quality to the room. Run reports that show an
average clean quality by housekeeper.

Housekeeping Status Screen

The Housekeeping Status screen provides
one screen for the head housekeeper to manage all housekeeping functions.
A sample of the Housekeeping Schedule screen is shown below. Important
features to note about the Housekeeping Status:

What is a
Housekeeping Board?

A housekeeping board shows all the dirty rooms that
one housekeeper should clean that day, along with special notes and
other information about the room or the guest.

Creating Boardsand Assigning Housekeepers

Creation of the housekeeping boards can be performed
each day based on the following factors:

Number of Dirty rooms at the property

Duration of time it takes to clean each room type (this is
configurable)

Number of housekeepers available

Logical cleaning order based on maid zones, building floors,
or other custom order

Each housekeeping board can be printed and given to one or more housekeepers
for execution.

Scheduling Monitor Status
and Auto Refresh

The Monitor Status screen can be used by the head housekeeper
to show a current snapshot of the room status. As rooms are cleaned,
the housekeepers can use a phone in the room to change the room status
to ready to inspect or clean. The display will refresh within
seconds (this is configurable).

Scheduling\Edit Schedule
Today's Summary

The Today's Summary displays at the top. In the
example below, there were 33 dirty rooms to start the day. Currently,
there are 10 dirty rooms, 11 rooms ready to inspect and 12 rooms have
been cleaned and are ready for guests. This summary can be automatically
refreshed every minute.

Navigation Bar Clean Status - Pie Chart

The housekeeping summary is also
displayed as a pie chart in the lower left.

Red - Dirty rooms that need to be cleaned

Yellow - Clean rooms marked ready to inspect

Green - Clean and inspected rooms ready for the guest

Blue - Rooms marked clean at board creation, now dirty

Today's
Boards

The Today's Schedule section below shows a summary
of the rooms for each board. This summary area can be expanded
to show detail for each dirty room.

Print Boards

The boards can be printed from the screen below and
given to housekeepers for cleaning.

Expand all
Boards

The detail for each housekeeper's board can be displayed
by clicking the "+" next to a given board in the Today's Boards section
below. Also the checkbox for Expand All Boards can be used.
See expanded board example below.

Clean Status

Checkboxes below in the Show Rooms section control the display to determine which rooms to display on the
housekeeping schedules. For example, just dirty rooms or only rooms
ready to inspect, or any combination can be displayed.

Housekeeping Status Screen

Expanded Board (Schedule for One Housekeeper)

The image below shows the expanded board, which is the schedule for one housekeeper
for the day. Additional information can be added for each dirty room, such
as the number of people, special requests, etc. This schedule can be printed
with the "print board" option and given to the housekeeper.

Housekeeping Monitor Status Display

The Monitor Status graph shows one bar for each board. This
display makes it easy to see the progress for the day.

The system allows the detail of any schedule to be displayed with
a mouse click. Point the cursor anywhere in this display, and the user will
be taken to the Expanded Board view as shown in the sample
directly above.

As rooms are marked ready to inspect or clean, this display automatically
refreshes. Room Status can be changed in the room by using the
Housekeeping
Interface.

Flow Of
Events

The flow of events in the RDPWin
Housekeeping Scheduling is as follows:

Forecast
Housekeeping
Requirements

The housekeeping module is designed to forecast the
total number of housekeepers needed for each day in the future based
on current guests in-house and expected arrivals/departures. This
information can be used to accurately plan the work schedules of housekeepers
to ensure there is enough staff to cover the cleaning for that day.

Rooms Marked

as Dirty Each Night

The rooms are automatically marked
dirty during the night audit when nightly room charges are posted.

Configure
"Clean Time"
Per Room Type
OR

Per Room Number

System tables are created once to store the Clean Time
for each room type or room for each Clean Type. A sample of this table
appears below:

Unit Type

Clean Type

Clean Time (Minutes)

King

Daily

20

King

Checkout

35

Double-Double

Daily

30

Double-Double

Checkout

45

Suite

Daily

45

Suite

Checkout

55

Create Cleaning

Schedules Daily

The system creates cleaning schedules based on the number
of dirty rooms, the number of housekeepers available, and the Clean
Time from the table above. A sample of this is shown in the
Housekeeping Status screen above.

Clean the Rooms

The housekeepers clean the rooms in the order printed
on their daily schedule. This order is predefined to make sure the rooms
are cleaned in a logical order, since room number sequence may not be
the most efficient order to clean rooms. For example, rooms can
be cleaned in a pre-designed order such as 101, 102, 106, 213.

If the
optional housekeeper-phone interface is installed, the housekeeper
can press a key on the in-room phone to indicate they have started cleaning.
This stamps the clean start time into the housekeeping history file.
Housekeepers can press a different key to indicate they have completed
the clean, which stamps the end time and marks the room ready to inspect.
Reports are then available showing the actual cleaning time per room,
as well as the expected cleaning time and variance.

Mark Rooms Ready
for Inspection

The housekeepers change the room status from
dirty to
ready to inspect as rooms are cleaned. The inspection step is
optional and can be turned off so rooms can go directly from dirty to
clean. The room status can be changed various ways, as follows:

The housekeeper can use the phone in the room to directly change
the room status using RDP's optional
phone-housekeeping interface. For example, the housekeeper
may dial "*2" to change the room to ready to inspect. This
changes the room status immediately and is the most efficient procedure.
It also stamps the ending time for the clean into the housekeeping
history files.

The housekeeper can call the front desk or the housekeeping
department to ask them to change the room status using the
Housekeeping Status screen
above.

Housekeepers can mark the room as ready to inspect or clean
on their schedule and use a workstation to change the room status
later. This procedure delays changing the room status and
is not suggested.

Inspect Rooms

Mark As Clean Or

Schedule Re-Clean

If your property uses an inspector, the system prints
reports of rooms Ready to Inspect. After the room is inspected,
the inspector has the following options:

The inspector can mark the room as clean, using the phone in
the room. If the
optional housekeeper-phone interface is installed, this action
will also stamp the time the inspector finished into the housekeeping
history file. This allows you to view reports showing how
much time elapsed between when the housekeeper marked the room as
ready to inspect and the inspector finished.

If the inspector determines that the room is not properly
cleaned, the room status can be changed back to dirty again
using the phone in the room. This room then appears on the head
housekeeper's status display within seconds, who can then assign
a housekeeper to re-clean the room.

Schedule Cleaning Of Additional
Dirty Rooms
During the Day

Housekeeping is a 24-hour job at many hotels.
For example:

A guest may check-in to the hotel at 11:00 a.m. and check out
at 2:00 p.m.

The housekeeping system include a
separate Housekeeping Billing Module. Each clean type can be
assigned who and how much will be billed each time that particular
clean occurs. For example, a check-out clean could be billed
directly to the owner of unit's account at $40/hour. If a check-out
clean takes two hours to complete, the owner will be automatically
billed $80.

Additionally,
cleans can be billed directly to the guest's folio. If the guest
requests a special clean that is not included in the rate, simply
schedule the clean and the charge automatically appears on the folio.

After the clean has occurred, generate the payables directly to the
housekeeping vendor. Invoices or statements and checks can be
printed directly from the RDP system.

Housekeeping
History

It is possible to measure the performance of each housekeeper
by tracking the Estimated Clean Time and Actual Clean Time, as well
as variance. You can also track each time a room was cleaned and by
whom. For example, if a guest checks in to a Dirty room you can
determine which housekeeper marked the room as Clean. A clean
quality can be assigned to each room. Reports that average the clean
quality by housekeeper are available. See screens
below.

The Housekeeping Billing Module automates the process of charging owners
and guests for housekeeping services, as well as generating payables,
statements, and checks to the housekeeping vendor. Configure the amount of
time each clean requires per room type or room number, and assign the
hourly rate to each housekeeper or housekeeping vendor. The system
automatically calculates the cost and charges the appropriate owner or reservation.

The flexibility within the housekeeping module allows each room type or room
number to have a different clean time for each type of clean. Assign the hourly
rate for cleans that are billed to the owner, and a different amount can be
assigned to cleans billed to reservations. The system calculates the charges
based on the amount of time it takes to clean each room and the hourly rate.

Billing the owners for the housekeeping services occurs during the
month end process, to save time and allow for auditing of each
housekeeping transaction. This process also allows the user to adjust the price of the clean or not charge the owner at all.

Once the cleaning has been completed, a payable can be generated on the
housekeeping vendor's account based on the hourly rate of the vendor. This
can be different than the hourly rate charged, in order to include a markup
amount. Send the vendor a statement showing all
cleans that occurred, and print a check directly from RDP.